Organic and non-organic mulches – impact on environmental conditions, yield, and quality of Cucurbitaceae

Abstract

The publication presents the current state of knowledge regarding the importance of mulching in the cultivation of Cucurbitaceae (cucurbit, or gourd family) vegetables. The intensifying climate change – mainly decreasing rainfall – combined with large-scale production of cucurbit vegetables worldwide prompt the application of methods that reduce evaporation and weed infestation. One of the widespread methods is mulching of the soil. The most important advantages of this treatment include the efficient use of water, the reduction in soil erosion and in the leaching of nutrients to the deeper layers. In addition, mulching improves the physical and chemical properties of the soil, and positively affects the surrounding microclimate of the plant. The report includes descriptions of the characteristics of various types of organic, mineral and synthetic mulches used. The results of studies on the environmental conditions forming in mulched soil are presented. Also, the results of research into the physico-chemical properties of mulch-covered soil are collated. The effect of mulching on cucurbit vegetables was evaluated in terms of plant growth and development as well as fruit yield and its biological value. The monograph also deals with the effect of mulching on weed infestation, as well as the occurrence of harmful and beneficial organisms.

Coloured plastic mulches: impact on soil properties and crop productivity

“…Many technologies were tested to enhance the availability of water for plants and to protect water loss. It is verified that mulches enhance the availability of water for plants by their impact on reducing erosion, evaporation, surface temperature, wind impact, and weed infestation [37][38][39]. Different researchers reported that coloured plastic mulches have a visible impact on effective water use, protection against water loss, and enhancing water use efficiency for different crops [15,25,39,40].…”

The use of novel liquid mulching formulations (hydromulching) increases yield and quality of artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) by improving soil physicochemical and biological properties

“…Kosterna et al (2010) reported increments in dry matter, reducing sugars (fructose and glucose), and vitamin C in melon as a result of mulching with black polyethylene lm. Other studies have reported that the use of organic mulching had a bene cial effect on the synthesis of dry matter, crude ber, and protein content in pumpkin (Bucki and Siwek 2019). Additionally, the same authors reported increased dry matter content in cucumber fruits of mulched plants, with a similar amount of soluble sugars compared to the fruits from plants grown on non-covered soils.…”

Organic Mulch Increases Insect Herbivory by the Flea Beetle Species, Disonycha glabrata, on Amaranthus spp.

“…It is also possible that moisture retained by straw mulch may lead to the production of compounds that may be toxic to the insects in question; this would result in lower populations compared to a cropped area without straw. In many of the studies cited earlier [11][12][13][14][15][16][17], mulching reduced pest numbers generally as a result of enhanced natural enemy activity. If one were to draw a parallel with this study, one would have to conjecture that the beneficial fauna in the case of amaranth and D. glabrata was simply at a very low ebb to exert significant any impact on the adult beetle population.…”